2010/3/5 François Pérou <francois.perou@free.fr>:
> Thanks for your answers.
>
> To speak frankly:
>
> * I wrote the Drupal guide for porting from MySQL to PostgreSQL.
>
> * I am also the author of remarks about people should use PostgreSQL to
> write portable SQL.
>
> * I am very surprised by the SQL level of Php developers. The example
> Drupal developers trying to rewrite SQL queries dynamically adding
> DISTINCT clause is just an example. So don't expect them to understand
> the difference between MySQL and PostgreSQL. It is out of reach. They
> focuse on Php code.
>
> * I got banned from Drupal website during 2 days because I opened a bug
> complaining about a long running SQL query that moved the whole content
> of a 20.000 rows forum into PHP variables just to display 'Previous' and
> 'Next' links. I had to write Dries Buytaert to get unbanned. Then Prev
> and Next features got removed from Drupal. They did not even try to use
> SELECT FROM ... LIMIT ... OFFSET to find prev and next records.
>
> * Php developers analyze database performance using PHP cache. They
> never read MySQL logging information. I guess they don't have such
> information, as on some providers, MySQL is configured without logging
> (for ... speed as MySQL configuration states). So they use Php code to
> display performance information.
>
> All this is true.
>
> Nevertheless, I feel my explanations are useless. This is like fighting
> against the wind.
>
> I believe that PostgreSQL should support more MySQLisms in order to BEAT
> MySQL.
>
> Feel free to use my guide on Drupal website. We have to adapt tools to
> people, not the converse.
>
> Kind regards,
> Jean-Michel Pouré
>
This is confusing advocacy and technical considerations.
Yes PHP coders are often deeply ignorant of database issues, many of
them deliberately and militantly so. I have had my altercations with
the Drupal community over dumb SQL and uncritical praise of document
databases as a pancea. MySQL has a set of characteristics (maybe even
deliberately) which work well for uptake in that market.
One of the reasons I like Postgres is the feeling I get that the
product and the community around it would like to make better
databases. They would like to use databases better and make it
possible for others to use databases better. On that front MySQL is
already beaten.
Just as the abuse of spreadsheets for data management will probably
never be properly vanquished, the permissiveness of MySQL will always
present a lower hurdle to some coders.
The perception of MySQL as enemy number one does also concern me a
bit. Postgres is competing for installed base on a far wider front
than that. If installed base is really that meaningful a competition
in the first place.
Bell.